


Memento Mori

by mulderitsdee



Series: Our sister who cried when we stepped on ants [1]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Gen, Good Sister Vanya Hargreeves, Hurt No Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Drug Addiction, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Klaus Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Pre-Series, Suicide Attempt, me @ me: you okay buddy?, me reading all these tags: yikes, ooph this is a rough one lads
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-23
Updated: 2019-03-23
Packaged: 2019-11-28 21:57:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18214169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mulderitsdee/pseuds/mulderitsdee
Summary: "Vanya’s front steps, he remembers. Because Ben is gone and Diego’s place is too far away and he thinks maybe he’s dying and he doesn’t know if he wants that or not but he’s certain he doesn’t want to do it alone."Pre-series, Klaus overdoses and finds himself on Vanya's front steps. She is, understandably, a bit concerned by it all.





	Memento Mori

**Author's Note:**

> Another little drabble abt Klaus and Vanya originally posted on my tumblr. It's not a happy one lads.

The stone of Vanya’s front steps is too cold, but Klaus doesn’t have it in him to move. Not while the world is spinning so violently, he is the only stationary thing there is right now and everything else is trying to throw him off. It’s a frightening thought, he doesn’t want to tumble into whatever black abyss the world is trying to throw him into, so he scrabbles against the steps until his fingernails are bloody and clings to them with bone white knuckles. A couple of months back he’d called a crisis hotline, a woman had answered, soft voice, full of concern. Is there anyone with you? No. Do you have family you could talk to? No, we don’t get on. How about friends? I don’t have any. I’m sure that’s not true. I’m sorry, I’m wasting your time. Sir? Please stay on the line I think it’s best if you-he wishes he could remember the number, he could find a phone booth and call back. Apologise for worrying her, tell her he thinks he’s made a mistake, but he can’t move. If he takes his hands off the steps he’s going to fall and the thought forces his eyes closed with a whimper.

It’s a nice night out, silent but for the sound of Klaus’ laboured breathing. He’s no doctor but he’s pretty sure it shouldn’t sound like that, a death rattle is the phrase that comes to mind. In rehab last time, or maybe the time before that or before that or before-they’d talked about the dangers of overdosing on downers. Rick had been leading the session, Rick the Dick the patients called him, and he’d droned on about becoming so relaxed your lungs and heart just stop working. At the time Klaus had thought that sounded like heaven, but now he’s not so sure.

“Oh my God, Klaus?” his name, who the hell knows his name? (Family? we don’t get on. Friends? I don’t have any). Ben left earlier with that look on his face, and that’s not his voice anyway, it’s too feminine. He shudders, tries to force his eyes open. He can’t remember where he is or how he got here. Someone’s hands are on him, turning him over, pulling his hands away from their death grip on the cold stone and he whimpers again. Then the hands are on his face, his chest, dancing frantically across any part of him they can touch and calling his name until Klaus forces his eyes open and looks up at Vanya with too wide pupils. Vanya’s front steps, he remembers. Because Ben is gone and Diego’s place is too far away and he thinks maybe he’s dying and he doesn’t know if he wants that or not but he’s certain he doesn’t want to do it alone.

“Hello? Yes, ambulance-please-my brother-I think he’s overdosed on something-” Vanya’s voice is frantic, tears rolling down her cheeks and somewhere deep in his foggy brain Klaus knows he caused that. He wheezes, manages to lift one trembling hand to grab the one Vanya doesn’t have her phone in. Dimly he notices that his fingertips have gone blue-all things considered it’s quite a pretty colour. He wants to apologise, for making her deal with this, for not being there when he should have been and being here now when he shouldn’t be. Mostly he wants to tell her that he’s scared and ask her not to leave him. He tries, too, against the pressure in his chest and the rawness of his throat, he gets as far as _“va-”_ before his chest rattles again and he’s left gasping for air. 

Her other hand is in his hair now, the phone abandoned as she talks at him about the ambulance being here soon and how she’s sorry although Klaus has no idea what she has to be apologising for. Eventually when he goes to breathe in, he finds he can’t, it’s too much effort, and Vanya is crying and saying something to him that gets lost as the world grows darker and fuzzier around the edges. By the time the ambulance gets there, Klaus’ heart has already stopped.


End file.
